Justin B. Terry-Smith has been involved in Gay and HIV Activism since 1999. He is a Air Force 9/11 Disabled Vet. Raised in Silver Spring, MD, he now lives in Severn, MD with his husband Phil. He writes an HIV/STI Advice Column for A&U Magazine and is a Contributing writer for thebody.com. He earned an AA in Communications, a BA in Political Science, Masters and Doctorate in Public Health with a concentration in Infectious Disease.

Justin's HIV Journal

Saturday, October 19, 2013

When I was infected with HIV I called the person who I
believed in infected me, I got him tested and he was positive also; that
happened in 2006.All these years I
thought I knew who infected me.But
something came up a couple of months ago.I got a phone call from a friend who said that we had sex unprotected
some year back.I honestly had no idea,
but I knew we had sex before about 3 times.I do remember all the times we had sex, but I didn’t know that one of
those times was unprotected.I must say
he didn’t know he was HIV positive at the time either, but he found out
later.When he had eventually found out,
we had already lost contact.

It is now 2013 and the same handsome man had called me after
watching and reading my blog.He had
told what I had mentioned above.I do
believe him and we are still friends.I
can’t blame him because it took two to tango and it was consensual sex.But now I’m at an impasse, and I don’t know
what to do.

Should I investigate further and find out who infected
me?Or should I move on and live my life
without that answer?

I’ve lived my life thus far not knowing, but I gave myself a
false knowing of who infected me and now I just don’t know.Maybe I unconsciously knew that there may
have been another sexual encounter I had that may had infected me with
HIV.

Even if I find out who infected me, will that make me any
happier?Will is close a door that wasn’t
meant to be opened?

All I know now is that I took solace in knowing who infected
and I lived my life for me and my family.But will I stop doing what I’m doing and being who I am because of
this.The answer is NO.I now take solace in not wanting to know who
infected me but in my husband, my son, my friends and family.These are the things that truly matter to me.These are the things that will always matter
to me.

Justin B Terry-Smith

Facebook Badge

About Justin B Terry-Smith

My name is Justin B Terry-Smith, I'm a Black Gay man living in Laurel, Maryland and I am HIV+. I've decided to share my story because I feel it's important that people who have unprotected sex know what they might be getting themselves into. People have asked me why I am doing this, why have I put my personal business out like this. I tell them it is to help educate people, to make them aware and to make them think twice about having unprotected sex. This is my personal journey that needs to be told to help the community.
HIV is neither glamorous or a rite of passage. Watch the Journal and think twice.
In the words of Pedro Zamora, "I'm not dying. I'm living with it"